Surviving The Assault on Private Sector Careers in America

Money's 2007 Best Places to Live List is Out!

Every year around this time, Money Magazine published their silly list of “Best Places to Live” and some small town in America runs out and orders a big sign to place on the edge of town announcing that they’ve been chosen. The truth is, I have yet to see a “winning town” that I’d really live in.

Take this year’s winner –Middleton, Wisconsin.

Money has a screen they use to select the best town in America, they quantify a number of community atributes like:

Affordable housing

Plentiful leisure activities

Plentiful cultural options

Job growth

Sunny weather

Short commute time

Good health care access

If you look at the article below from WSBTV in Atlanta, you’ll discover a few interesting facts about Middleton. For example, “Middleton is home to Capital Brewery and its expansive beer garden, where patrons are encouraged to pack a picnic and stay to watch movies or listen to a band. The American Girl doll maker is one of Middleton’s largest employers. The only negatives mentioned for Middleton were a lack of ethnic diversity and its long, cold winters.”

So great culural activities — if you like pinics in the beer garden; great jobs — if you want to work in a brewery or a doll factory; and plenty of sunshine — during long cold winters!

Perhaps Middleton is not your #1 place to live. That’s the problem with Money’s list, it’s built out of Money’s criteria screen and that’s a “one size fit’s all” filter.

That said, I really like the concept behind money’s list. When you start your career, you need to look beyond your chosen vocation and think about where you want to live and attributes of that region or community. In effect, make up your own “Best Places to Live” screening criteria. Affordable living is great, but I’d rather have “high paying jobs” any day. When it come to liesure and culture, it better be things YOU want to do.

So think about the lifestyle you really want to live. Then look at the communities that have that lifestyle and research the economy and job opportunities for YOUR chosen vocation. This is a big picture activity, so you don’t have to get real precise. The point is, think about the TOTAL life you want for yourself and then search for a job in places that are highly likey to support that lifestyle.

Home Sweet Home? Best U.S. Towns Ranked

California’s Home To Most Top 100 Towns

POSTED: 8:12 am EDT July 17, 2007

A small town in the shadow of Madison, Wis., has its own reason to boast.

Money magazine declared this week that Middleton is the “Best Place to Live” in America for 2007.

The magazine picked Middleton because it’s a tight-knit community and close to the cultural and economic benefits of Madison. The state capital is roughly 14 times larger than Middleton. It was named by Money as the best place to live in 1998.

With a population just over 17,000, Middleton was praised by Money for its small-town charm, booming economy and extensive parks and bike trails.

Money said many of its residents commute the seven miles to Madison for work, but enjoy the amenities that a smaller town brings.

Middleton is home to Capital Brewery and its expansive beer garden, where patrons are encouraged to pack a picnic and stay to watch movies or listen to a band. The American Girl doll maker is one of Middleton’s largest employers. The only negatives mentioned for Middleton were a lack of ethnic diversity and its long, cold winters.

Many residents said on Monday that the magazine ranking just confirms what they’ve known for a long time. The city finished seventh in the magazine’s ranking in 2005. The city’s pedestrian-friendly and beautifully laid out downtown was just one of the city’s assets that got the attention of the magazine. Those in the business of drawing people to the community credit visionary city leadership.

“The leaders in the ’60s and ’70s saw fit to include a large commercial component in the city,” said Val Steel, the city’s tourism director. “Some things that we have drawn probably because of the welcoming nature of Middleton and the hotels and the schools and the industry are some restaurants and some businesses you don’t normally find in towns of 17,000-18,000,” said Steel.

California is home to the most Top 100 towns on the 2007 list, according to Money. Claremont, Clayton, Coronado, El Dorado Hills, Grand Terrace, Granite Bay, La Mirada, La Palma and Moorpark all made it in the top 100. To see how the cities in your state ranked, click here. In 2006, Money magazine called Fort Collins, Colo, the “Best Place to Live” in America, citing its natural setting, vibrant downtown and the presence of Colorado State University.

The magazine looked at 2,876 places with populations between 7,500 and 50,000. They screened out retirement-oriented communities, places where income is less than 90 percent or more than 180 percent of the state median and towns that are more than 95 percent white. The researchers also eliminated towns with low education scores, high crime rates, declines or sharp increases in population, projected job losses or lack of access to airports or teaching hospitals. The magazine said it then ranked the places that remained based on job, income and cost-of-living data; housing affordability; school quality; arts and leisure opportunities; ease of living; health-care access; and racial diversity. Here is the list of the top 25 places to live, according to Money magazine:

Middleton, Wis.

Hanover, N.H.

Louisville, Colo.

Lake Mary, Fla.

Claremont, Calif.

Papillion, Neb.

Milton, Mass.

Chaska, Minn.

Nether Providence, Pa.

Suwanee, Ga.

Sammamish, Wash.

West Goshen, Pa.

Montville, N.J.

Apex, N.C.

Horsham, Pa.

La Palma, Calif.

Olney, Md.

Sherwood, Ore.

Corrales, N.M.

Lisle, Ill.

Chelmsford, Mass.

Holly Springs, N.C.

Hillsborough, N.J.

Nanuet, N.Y.

Baldwin, N.Y.

Are You Single?

If you are single and trying to decide where you may have good luck in finding a mate, there may be some help for you. Money magazine also listed the towns with the highest percentage of singles. Here is its top 10:

Other Lists

Money magazine also listed the cities with the highest median household income. Hillsborough, Calif., topped that list. The city with the priciest homes was Montecito, Calif. And the city with the most affordable homes was Northbrook, Ohio. As for job growth, Money said Tooele County, Utah, is the area with the highest percentage job growth. The fastest commute went to Pella, Iowa, which Money said had the quickest median travel time to work. The slowest commute was in Discovery Bay, Calif., which had the longest median travel time to work. The hottest city, which had the highest average temperatures in July, was Davis, Calif. The coldest city, which had the lowest average January temperatures, was Rochester, Minn. The city with the youngest average population was Storrs, Conn., with a median age of 20.65. The skinniest population was in Marin County, Calif., with an average body mass index of 24.14. And the city with the cleanest air was Troy, Ala. The “best places to live” feature has appeared in Money since 1987.

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One Response

This is a surprising list – I never would have guess half of those cities would be so highly ranked. In fact, I’ve never even heard of some of them. Perhaps I should look into a few and rethink my living situation!